15 Minutes

I'm sure almost all of you have been on the receiving end of one of the following:

1. "I'll be there in fifteen minutes." 
2. "It shouldn't take me more than fifteen minutes." 

Yeah, right.

Quickly, fifteen minutes turns into thirty minutes, and sometimes more.

Interestingly, the same phenomenom exists here in Central America.

Except for "fifteen minutes," one might hear "ahora" (Nicaragua) or "cinco minutos" (Costa Rica).

Why do we insist on these little white lies?

Wouldn't it be easier to say 30 minutes and then issue a pleasant surprise by arriving early?

One of those great unexplained mysteries in life.

Perhaps not on the same scale as Stonehenge, but mysterious nonetheless.

I gave myself 15 minutes to write this piece.

You know what happened.

Sigh.